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Force
The Force is an energy field that binds all living things. Whether you believe it's more mystic or more scientific, not everyone in the galaxy is sensitive to the Force, and thus, this game will feature a limited selection of characters who can access and wield the power of the Force. If you have any questions, please direct them to the Force wizard or send a +request to staff (+help +request). Activity Arguably, being a Force-user is one of the most coveted things to be on a Star Wars MU*. Therefore, the Force-users here will be held to a stronger sense of commitment to being active and RPing with the rest of the grid. All Force-users will be held to the same RP activity guidelines as Feature Characters as outlined in NEWS ACTIVITY. Please see NEWS FORCE RETIREMENT to see what happens when a Force-user character is removed from the grid and why that might happen. Alignment Alignment for Force-users is not set in stone. Much like Anakin falling to the Dark Side and then being redeemed to the Light Side happening in the movies, we fully expect our Force-users to potentially shift alignment based on in-game plots. On the other hand, we don't expect it to happen at the drop of a hat. If a player wants to RP a lengthy fall to the Dark Side or a tough and painful rise back to the Light Side, we're amenable after the player has served three (3) RL months at their current alignment. Just toss us a +request and we'll see what we can do. What's important here is serving interesting character story arcs, not slavishly adhering to an equal balance of light and dark. Please note that even though a character may exist in "balance," this is an at best temporary state. The "Gray Jedi" or "neutral" Force User will not work here, though non-Sith "Dark Jedi" are acceptable. Please note: switching alignment does not change a player's Force dice or suddenly give them extra powers. Applications After four (4) RL months of activity with an approved non-Force-user character, every player in good standing may petition staff for a Force-user character. However, the caveat here is that the player must then maintain a Force-user alt and a non-Force-user alt in order to retain their Force-user alt. This is to ensure that at least half of the active characters on the game are not Force-users. The player may choose one of two options: # Make the existing character Force-user and create a non-Force-user alt. # Create an all-new character to be their Force-user alt and retain their original character as their non-Force-user alt. Note: Staff retains the right to deny a petition for a Force-user if: * The player has conduct warnings within the past 2 RL months. * The player has not met the activity requirements in NEWS ACTIVITY. * The player regularly RPs with only three or fewer other players. Once the four (4) RL months have passed, a player may put in a +request that contains the following information: * The name of the non-Force-user alt we'll be using to track activity * The name of your Force-user alt * Basic starting alignment (See Also: NEWS FORCE ALIGNMENT) * A brief pitch citing what concept you intend on playing out with the Force-user character If a player is denied a petition for a Force-user, he or she will receive information as to why and what steps are necessary to correct the situation, and they may repetition in two (2) RL months. Force Ghosts Force ghosts are the immortal spirits of dead Force users who either selflessly became one with the Force such as Qui-Gon Jinn or Yoda, or selfishly staved off becoming one with the Force through some serious dark Sith shenanigans such as Exar Kun. Force ghosts are not free-roaming spirits like in Ghostbusters; they are linked to a specific person/persons, an imbued item, or a specific place. Only Force-sensitives or Force-users can see a Force ghost, and generally not even a Force-sensitive can see or hear the ghost unless the ghost chooses to manifest aurally and/or visually. The only real exception would be someone like Yoda in deep meditation. For the purposes of the game, Force ghosts are only available for specific TPs and will typically be run by staff unless we choose to farm out the role for a limited period of time. Until we get some PC Knight or Master-level trainers on the game, Force ghosts will be one of the primary means for new Force-users to learn how to harness the Force. Protips * If your Force-using character doesn't work without the Force, then you'll want to rewrite so it can stand on its own two legs. Think of your character as mashed potatoes and the Force as a little bit of gravy on top. * Pick one special Force talent for the character, not five. (Just say no to Mary Sue/Marty Stu.) * Try not to mold your Force character into a super-special snowflake. They already have the Force as their main means of standing out from the crowd. If your character is mashed potatoes with a little bit of gravy on top, don't go for poutine instead (even if poutine is really delicious). * Not everyone can be "strong in the Force." It's okay to app for something less than the ultimate limit. See also: Zayne Carrick and Jarael from the KOTOR comics. * Put some nice skill flaws on your character for balance. No one's perfect. * Remember that the Jedi were all but wiped out approximately 20 years ago. They haven't formally trained anyone except Luke since. Your character's age and lack of training should reflect this fact. See NEWS FORCE TRAINING for more info. Restricted Not all Force-sensitive or Force-user concepts are going to be approved. Here are the basic concepts that we will not be approving at this time unless we specifically request for one: * Fully-trained Darksiders (including Dark Jedi, Sith, Nightsister). * A fully-trained Jedi who just /happened/ to escape the Purge. * A Force-user who just happened to have a pocket Force ghost or hidden Jedi Master to have trained them somewhere off in the boonies. Everyone other than Luke starts off as untrained. * Non-Jedi Force traditions * Wookiee Force-users due to lore rarity. * Force-users at level 4 or 5 (see NEWS FORCE SCALE) The following concepts will not be approved at all: * Turning a Feature Character who wasn't a Force-sensitive in the EU into a Force-user. * Copies of characters from other genres. * Previously unknown relatives of known FC Force-users. Retirement Sometimes things happen. Players get a bit of real life thrown at them. They get bored and go play some new MMO. Whatever the reason is, sometimes a player simply cannot continue their activity on the game, and that's okay. Real life always comes first. However, there may come a time when a player steps down from their role here on the game, voluntarily or not. In the case of a Force-user, retiring means their Force-user character goes in the freezer. The player will need to re-establish two (2) RL months of activity before reclaiming the Force-user; however, their character will remain exactly as they are regardless of how long the player is away. This is meant to be fair to the players who were active during that time and earned the CP to train their character. It will be incumbent upon a returning Force player to come up with a suitable explanation as to where their character was during the time they were off-camera. Sadly, there may come a time when a Force-user's player misbehaves OOCly in such a fashion where he or she may be involuntarily removed from their Force character. In such a hopefully rare circumstance, a Force-user's character will be put in the freezer, and he or she may not re-apply for the character or another Force-user character until at least four (4) RL months have passed and staff feels assured that the poor behavior that caused the revocation will not recur. Force Scale When you consider your Force character, here's a simple scale to explain how staff will view them. * 0 - This character is blind to the Force (i.e. a regular character). * 1 - Force-sensitive/Untrained. * 2 - Apprentice/Padawan. Basic levels, still needs supervision ICly. * 3 - Sith Lord/Jedi Knight. Has some skills, can be pretty self-sufficient. * 4 - Darth/Jedi Master. Highest level any PC is likely to attain. * 5 - Yoda/Anakin Skywalker/One with the Force. Legendary Jedi and Sith. Now, here's the fun part: Players who petition for a Force role will mostly start off as 1: Force-sensitive/untrained. Our intention is to allow player to grow into their characters' full potentials over time, not front-load high-end dice and faceroll over non-Force-users right out of the gate. See also: NEWS FORCE TRAINING for more info about that. What this also means is that in order to avoid a very large number of high- powered Force-users, staff will be guiding all training efforts. They will have to sign off on any request for a Force-user to progress beyond level 3 (Jedi Knight/Sith Lord). Not everyone can be 'strong in the Force' and thus equal dice-wise to characters such as Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi. Force Sensitives A Force-sensitive is a character with a very limited connection to the Force. He or she could see a Force ghost if the ghost willed it, or they could have a very basic weather sense, or they might have slightly faster reflexes when piloting a starfighter. The vast majority of the galaxy's Force-sensitives never got trained due to the Empire's Purge, and there will be many whose tenuous connection to the Force can never progress into full active Force-user abilities. For the purposes of the game, however, all Force roles will be characters whose abilities can be trained into active use unless the player specifically requests to have a permanent cap of 1D on all their Force abilities and remain a more latent Force-sensitive by choice. Training For most of the past generation, no one was formally training Force-users in either of the two biggest Force traditions in the galaxy, and qualified trainers are extremely few and far in between. Therefore, if someone wishes to learn the ways of the Force, he or she will need to find an appropriate Jedi or Sith trainer to RP with. The nitty-gritty of training Force skills through increasing dice or adding a Force skill to your +sheet will involve +requests to staff after you've spent some time RPing training and learning the skills. In general terms, Force-users will not be able to progress from Untrained to Apprentice for at least three (3) RL months of activity since acquiring their Force abilities, and then another six (6) RL months to go from Apprentice to Knight. Please note these are the bare minimum, and players still have to accumulate the Karma and CP needed to buy the requested skills and upgrades the same as with any non-Force upgrades are +requested. Training Caveats There are four main caveats to training Force skills: ## A player will not be able to speed-level through their skills until they max out like this is an MMO. Even someone very strong in the Force like Luke didn't learn all his tricks in a single month, so expect to be taking months if not years to learn the appropriate skills to become a self-sufficient Force-user. ## Until we have sufficient PCs to train newer Force-users, staff will provide reasonable means for Force-users to train up, be it access to holocrons, Force ghosts, etc. There will be ample scenes to cover training, but they'll be spread out over time. ## Until a basic Force skill is listed on a character's +sheet, he or she cannot RP successfully accomplishing the skill. Attempts that end in failure are fine (and expected), but success has to wait for +sheet. The sole exception to this is that you can use Karma (see NEWS KARMA) to have 1D in an untrained skill at a dramatic moment. (Think of Luke in the wampa's cave on Hoth when he needed to telekinetically lift his lightsaber but had not yet been trained by Yoda.) ## Unless approved by special request, a player's Force dice will be limited to appropriate levels for a Jedi Knight or Sith Lord, so we won't have Force-users whipping the rest of the game. ---- =Force Powers= * Control represents the ability to control one's own body and affect it with the Force. For information on Control-based powers: NEWS CONTROL * Sense represents the ability to "feel" the Force and gain special insights from it. For information on Sense-based powers: NEWS SENSE * Alter represents the ability to channel the Force externally to affect the physical world. For information on Alter-based powers: NEWS ALTER Control Concentration Difficulty: Easy: if the Jedi is calm and at peace; Difficult: if the Jedi is filled with fear and aggression; Very Difficult: if the Jedi is acting on negative emotions (to be decided by the GM). Keep up?: No : The Jedi may add +4D to any one action but may not do anything else, including duplicate uses of the same skill, dodge, or parries. The power may be used in conjunction with in-scene Karma spends. Deflect Energy Difficulty: Very Easy: sunburn; Easy: intense sun; Moderate: solar wind; Difficult: radiation. Keep up?: Yes : The power may not be kept up for blaster bolts or Force Lightning. The Jedi must be able to activate this power in the same round as the blaster bolts or Lightning, and must be able to activate it before the attack, in order to deflect or dissipate that energy. Enhance Ability Difficulty: Moderate. Keep up?: No : Only one attribute may be enhanced at a time. The duration can be extended by one round for every Karma point spent. Force Jump Difficulty: Easy Keep Up?: Yes : Power allows the Jedi to add their Control directly to their Jump skill (or the Strength Attribute if defaulting), enabling them to make difficult jumps more easily. Because of the level that this takes their skill to, it may now be possible for them to make jumps that appear to require levitation or similar powers. : Note that GMs should make rolls for nearly impossible jumps in the Heroic +10 or greater region, since Heroic is given in the book for the leap Luke Skywalker makes out of the Carbon Freezing Pit on Bespin, so the jumps that Obi-Wan Kenobi makes in Episode I should be slightly more difficult than this. Force of Will Difficulty: Easy Keep up?: Yes : Power allows Jedi to use Willpower to help fight any Force power that is either telekinetic or mind-based. The combined roll (Willpower + Control) is the protection number (PN). If the attack fails to beat the Control roll, play as normal. If it beats the Control but not the PN, the attack fails, but the Jedi loses –1D from Willpower and the PN must be rerolled. The power cannot be used if the Jedi’s Willpower’s drops below 1D. This power does not protect against Force Storms, Force Lightning, or any object hurled by Telekinesis. Heal Self Difficulty: Easy: wounded; Moderate: incapacitated; Difficult: mortally wounded. Keep up?: No : Time to use: 1 minute. The Jedi may make two natural healing rolls, with a +2 modifier to each roll. Stasis Self Difficulty: Difficult. Keep up?: Yes : The Jedi must declare what will cause him/her to wake up. Healing may be done while in the trance, but no other skills may be used. The Jedi can hibernate for up to one month in a wet climate or one week in a dry climate before dying of thirst. Another Jedi with the Sense skill or Life Detection power would be able to detect that the hibernating Jedi is alive. Sense |- | |} Combat Sense Difficulty: Moderate; +3 to the difficulty for each additional enemy. Keep Up?: No : The Jedi may choose when to act in the combat round (if two or more Jedi wish to act, the one with the higher roll goes first). Jedi’s attack and defense rolls are at +2D. The power lasts for 10 combat rounds and does not count as an action. Danger Sense Difficulty: Moderate or the attackers’ Control roll. Keep Up?: Yes : The Jedi can never be surprised; anyone wishing to attack the Jedi must declare so beforehand. Any attackers with Force powers may roll their Control skill to increase the difficulty number, almost like a Dodge roll. Farseeing Difficulty: VE, modified by proximity. Add +5 to +2 to the difficulty when seeing into the past. And +10 to +30 when seeing into the future. Sense difficulty: VE if the target is not resisting. Otherwise the target’s Control or Perception. This is modified by relationship. Keep Up?: No : Time to Use: 1 minute. The power allows the Jedi to view either a place or a person, in any situation, be it current, past, or future. Life Sense Difficulty: Very Easy: subject is Force-sensitive; Moderate: subject is not Force-sensitive. Modified by the relationship and proximity to the Jedi Keep Up?: Yes : The Jedi knows the location of all sentient beings within 10 meters. The Jedi must make a Sense roll versus the target’s Control or Perception to detect the being (this does not count as an action). If the Jedi beats the roll by 10 or more points, s/he may learn if the subject has Force powers or not, is Force-sensitive or not, if they have met before and if so, the subject’s identity. Power can also be used to sense a target’s physical condition. The target may use the Control skill to hide his/her identity from the Jedi; the resulting number would be added to the Jedi’s difficulty number. Telepathy Difficulty: Very Easy: friendly, non-resisting targets; otherwise roll either the target’s Control or Perception, modified by proximity and relationship. Keep Up?: Yes : This power allows the Jedi to communicate with the target’s mind. The Jedi must identify him/herself or else the target won’t know who is projecting the thoughts. The Jedi can also read the surface thoughts and emotions of target. If the Jedi’s roll is double the difficulty, the s/he can sift through any memory no older than 24 hours. The Jedi is able to read the minds of more than one target, but each counts as an action. This power does not work on Droids. Sense Force Difficulty: Moderate: area; Difficult: sensing details or specific objects within the area, modified by proximity and relationship. Keep Up?: Yes : This power will tell the Jedi the magnitude of the Force in an area or object and if it tends toward the Light or Dark side. The power cannot be used to detect sentient beings. This power also allows one to determine whether or not a target has the potential to become strong in the Force. The magnitude of "shield" backlash depends on the target’s strength in the Force. Time to Use: 6 rounds. Alter Affect Mind Difficulty: Very Easy: slight misrepresentations, minor changes to distant memories, or if the target doesn’t care about the conclusion; Easy: brief, visible phenomena, memories less than a year old, or if the target has only minor feelings about the conclusion. Moderate: short hallucinations, memories that are less than a day old, or if the target has strict orders about the conclusion; Difficult: Slight disguises to facial features, hallucinations which affect more than one sense, memories less than a minute old, or if the target considers the conclusions very important; Very Difficult: hallucinations which affect all the senses, if memory change is major or if the logic is absolutely clear and coming to the wrong conclusion is virtually impossible. Keep Up?: No : This power is used to permanently alter the target’s memories so that s/he either fails to remember something correctly or fails to remember something at all. The power can also be used to alter a target’s judgements so that he comes to an incorrect conclusion. The Jedi must describe exactly the effect s/he is looking for. Affect Mind is normally used only on one target; multiple targets can only be affected with multiple uses of the power. This power does not effect droids or recording devices. Dark Aura Difficulty: Easy, modified by proximity. Keep Up?: Yes : This power allows the Jedi to project a field of vague discomfort and unease around him, causing all non-sentient creatures to go out of their way to avoid him. Force Lightning Difficulty: Difficult, modified by proximity and line-of-sight. Keep Up?: No : This produces bolts of white or blue energy that fly from the Jedi’s fingertips like sorcerous lightning. The energy can be Force repelled by using the powers Absorb/Dissipate Energy or Lesser Force Shield. Armor does not protect the target. The Lightning does 1D of damage for every 2D the Jedi has in his/her Alter skill, rounded down. Heal Other Difficulty: Very Easy. Keep Up?: No : Time to Use: 1 minute. The Jedi may use this power to give a target two extra healing rolls as detailed in the Control Healing power. The Jedi must touch the target. Stasis Other Difficulty: Very Easy. Keep Up?: No : Time to Use: 5 minutes. The power allows the Jedi to put a target into a trance like the one the Hibernation Trance power creates. The Jedi must touch the target, who must be willing (this power cannot be used as an attack to shut someone down). The power can also be used to bring someone out of a Hibernation Trance, but the Alter difficulty is increased by +10. Telekinesis Difficulty: Very Easy: Objects weighing one kilo or less; Easy: objects weighing 1-10 kilos; Moderate: objects weighing 12-100 kilos; Difficult: objects weighing 101 kilos to one metric ton; Very Difficult: objects weighing 1001 kilos to ten metric tons. For each addition 10 meters moved per round, add +5 to the difficulty. The difficulty also increases if the object isn’t moving in a simple fashion or a straight line (+1 - +5 for gentle turns, +6 - +10 for easy maneuvers, +11 - +25 for complex maneuvers. Keep Up?: Yes : The object may be moved at up to ten meters per round with no additional penalty to the difficulty. The object can be used to attack other characters. Damage is as follows: The power may be used to levitate the Jedi and others. Any target may resist by adding their Control or Perception to the Jedi’s difficulty. Use the Control skill against the target’s dodge; if the target doesn’t wish to dodge, the difficulty is Easy. The Jedi can lift several objects at once, but each object counts as an action and requires a separate skill roll. Telekinesis can also be used as a primitive space drive in emergencies. Category:NEWS